Deep dive into the dark web: local woman accused of using it to hire hitman

WKBW — Courtdocumentsthatreadlike a Hollywood crimemoviepaint a pictureofan East Aurora womanwhoisaccusedofwanting to cause harm to her ex-boyfriend.

YanyanLesser, 47 yearsold, gotarrested . Shepleadedguilty to trying to hire a hitman on thedark web to seriouslyharm her ex-partner

Lesser, according to courtdocuments, textedmessages to thehitmanthatincludedsentenceslike “I wouldlike to givethisguya lesson,” “pleasegivehim a goodbeating and make surehe‘llremain in a wheelchair for the rest of the life,” whichhelped lead to her arrest.

The case brought the use of the dark web front and center locally. Assistant Professor Alan Katerinsky at the University at Buffalo’s School of Management said the big draw of it is anonymity.

“Thedark web is a smallportionofthedeep web,” he stated. “The deep web iseverythingyoucan’tget to with a normalsearchengine. Thingsbehindpaywalls, speciallyrestrictedareas.”

According to courtdocuments, Lesserproceededtwocryptocurrencytransactions, using Bitcoin, whichwere 7000$ in total.

Thedark web is a hidden place wheredrugtrafficking, weaponrysales, and stolen creditcardinfolivesprettyeasily, yetitcontinues to live. Katerinskysaidvolunteersdevoted to absolutefree speechkeepthesites running. He alsosaidthatbecauseit’sdecentralizedthere’sessentially no stoppingit.

Katerinskysaidactivities on thedark web are not necessarilyunusual activities, it’s a newformofcarryingouttheactivities.

“It’s a 21st century version of a crime, that’s really what we’re talking about,” he said. “Because there have been people arrested for trying to hire a hitman way before there was an internet.”